I'm impressed. Where did you find all this stuff? Wow. So Lincoln was making provisions for immediate war and behind congress's back. I have never seen this. Thanks.
Official Records of Union and Confederate Armies at eHistory
LINK to Cornell University site
Cornell University Official Records -- Links to Union and Confederate Armies and Navies and related
LINK to Cornell University site (Navy)
Cornell University Official Records Union and Confederate Navies
LINK to Cornell University site (Army)
Cornell University Official Records Union and Confederate Armies
LINK to Cornell University site
For a good starter, the above link yields a library of Gideon Welles articles, listed below.
This first article about Fort Sumter says "George" but it is really "Gideon" ... You will see there is another article on Fort Pickens which is also informative. These two articles by former Secretary of the Navy Welles contain quotations of many of the official orders that were issued. I highly recommend the articles on Forts Sumter and Pickens. The articles on Lincoln and Johnson are also interesting, especially the events of the cabinet meeting of April 14, 1865.
Welles, George, Facts in relation to the Expedition ordered by the Administration of President Lincoln for the relief of the Garrison in Fort Sumter. The Galaxy, vol. 10, issue 5 (November 1870).
Welles, Gideon, Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 23, issue 1 (January 1877).
Welles, Gideon, Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 24, issue 5 (Nov 1877).
Welles, Gideon, Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 23, issue 2 (February 1877).
Welles, Gideon, Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 24, issue 6 (Dec 1877).
Welles, Gideon, Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 24, issue 4 (Oct 1877).
Welles, Gideon, Admiral Farragut and New Orleans, with an Account of the Origin and Command of the First Three Naval Expeditions of the War. The Galaxy, vol. 12, issue 5 (November 1871).
Welles, Gideon, Admiral Farragut and New Orleans, with an Account of the Origin and Command of the First Three Naval Expeditions of the War. The Galaxy, vol. 12, issue 6 (December 1871).
Welles, Gideon, Capture and release of Mason and Slidell. The Galaxy, vol. 15, issue 5 (May 1873).
Welles, Gideon, Election and Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 22, issue 4 (October 1876).
Welles, Gideon, Election and Administration of Abraham Lincoln. The Galaxy, vol. 22, issue 3 (September 1876).
Welles, Gideon, Facts of the Abandonment of the Gosport Navy-yard. The Galaxy, vol. 10, issue 1 (July 1870).
Welles, Gideon, Fort Pickens. The Galaxy, vol. 11, issue 1 (January 1871).
Welles, Gideon, Gideon Welles in Answer to Thurlow Weed. The Galaxy, vol. 10, issue 1 (July 1870).
Welles, Gideon, The History of Emancipation. The Galaxy, vol. 14, issue 6 (December 1872).
Welles, Gideon, Lincoln and Johnson. The Galaxy, vol. 13, issue 4 (April 1872). (Review of Last Cabinet Meeting - 14 Apr 1865)
Welles, Gideon, Lincoln and Johnson. The Galaxy, vol. 13, issue 5 (May 1872).
Welles, Gideon, Lincoln's Triumph in 1864. The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 41, issue 246 (April 1878).
Welles, Gideon, The Opposition to Lincoln in 1864. The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 41, issue 245 (March 1878).
Welles, Gideon, Hon., Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward. The Galaxy, vol. 16, issue 6 (December 1873).
Welles, Gideon, Hon., Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward. The Galaxy, vol. 16, issue 5 (November 1873).
Welles, Gideon, Hon., Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward. The Galaxy, vol. 16, issue 4 (October 1873).